I’m sat writing this post from what has become my new ‘office space’ if you like. Since getting my MacBook Air I seem to favour sitting at the kitchen table next to the radiator with a blanket wrapped round me. Maybe I prefer it because I’m closer to the wine. Who knows.

Rich has been at work since 2pm so my Mum and I popped to the Outlet Village to window shop and have coffee. 2.5 hours later with about £60 less in my bank, we finally decided to leave but not before grabbing a cheeky prosecco on the way out. Whoever decided to put a swanky new restaurant right by the exit, well played.

Those of you who may have been reading my blog for a while will know I like to dabble in the world of fitness. And by dabble I mean I tend to go through phases of being super motivated and filling my instagram stories with snippets of butt building workouts whilst wearing the brightest leggings I can find, to sitting at home in the worlds baggiest clothes surrounded by empty chocolate wrappers and drinking endless glasses of wine.

Currently i’m less motivated than I’d like to be, however I have been making it to the gym a few times a week and that my friends, is better than nothing. I think people assume I find keeping in shape relatively easy and that having a PT for a boyfriend means my life resembles a mini bootcamp each day with Rich screaming through a mega phone at me in the early hours of the morning to get the hell up and train. This is far from the truth and even though I’ve learnt a lot about working out and about nutrition, I find it just as hard as any other woman. I know what I should and shouldn’t be eating but at the end of the day, I’m just a girl, standing in front of the fridge, trying not to eat all the chocolate.

As you may have seen in my latest videos, which you can watch HERE and HERE, I had another colonoscopy last week and a few days before hand I had to eat a low residue diet. Que all the carbs. My diet was actually going pretty well before this; I was still in the mind frame of New Year, new me and I was feeling pretty fucking pumped to be honest. But it only ever seems to take one little set back and I fall flat on my face, old habits resume and here I am once again wondering why my tummy looks as though I had a baby 1 month previous. (True story by the way as I was in the changing rooms earlier and I almost cried actual tears.)

Anyway, if there is one meal I always get right it will be breakfast. Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day hands down and because of this I tend to make it relatively healthy. Seriously, if you are yet to try avocado with your breakfast then you are not living your life right.

Just sayin’.

If you had been a fly on the wall in our house this morning you may have well wondered if there was something mentally wrong with me because I was losing my shit over making the most perfect pancakes you could ever imagine. Myprotein pancakes to be exact. A few weeks ago someone from Myprotein contacted me after reading my 11 ways to feel healthier in 2017 and asked if I wanted to work with them and become part of their affiliate program. I was pretty excited as I love their products and we often buy our protein from them. So in our last order I decided to try out the protein pancakes as I was running out of breakfast ideas and there’s only so much avo and eggs a girl can eat you know?

Back to me in the kitchen this morning.

I mean, I’ve never really been one for getting things right when it comes to cooking, so I think the pancakes may have been little ambitious if I’m being perfectly honest. Being a photographer, I’m a very visual person and I like my food to be visually pleasing and I have been known to scroll through Pinterest and Instagram looking at perfectly stacked pancakes from time to time. Maybe that’s why I was losing the will to live with these pancakes; they just weren’t living up to the images in my head. Rich thought it was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever seen, it is, after all, just a pancake and it really doesn’t matter how they look but more how they taste and what’s in them that is more important.

And he’s right. With a whopping 34g of protein per serving and only 7g carbs, Myprotein pancakes are for sure the way forward. And once I got the hang of it, they did become easier to cook! I added some blueberries and some chopped banana and a tiny bit of honey, although it wasn’t needed as these pancakes are golden syrup flavour so they were already quite sweet. Starting the day with more protein keeps you full for longer and also keeps your energy levels higher for a longer period of time, which is great news at this time of the year when the days are dark and cold!

If you’re already into eating higher protein foods then you will no doubt love these but for those of you who aren’t then don’t expect them to taste the same as the pancakes your mum used to make you on Shrove Tuesday when you were a kid. Although we really enjoyed them, obviously nothing beats the taste of proper pancakes but if you’re looking for a healthy alternative then you need to give these a try!

It’s that time of year again where we all need to go up into the loft or out into the garage and dust off the Christmas tree ready for decorating. I do love decorating the tree and making the house look all festive and pretty and sparkly and I do like to make the most of the whole process! So here are 8 ways to make decorating your tree extra Christmassy!

1. Mulled wine

Not only does this taste amazing but it also makes your house smell really really festive! Win win. I won’t lie, I don’t make my own mulled wine and this year I picked up some mulled wine spices from Dobbies garden centre. They come in little tea bags that you add to your favourite bottle of red wine along with some sugar and a few slices of orange. Even Rich enjoyed a glass!

2. Mince pies

I kind of have a love hate relationship with mince pies. Like, I really want to love them because they look so good and smell like heaven but what is that weird stuff inside? It’s not uncommon for me to remove the filling of mince pies at Christmas and fill them with double cream instead however, there is something different about the puff pastry ones and I’ll happily eat the entire thing if needs must. This year I did, in fact, buy some normal mince pies from Tescos and I actually really enjoyed them! And what do mince pies go really well with? See point 1.

3. Christmas tunes

I mean, you can’t decorate a tree without a bit of Slade blasting in the background or Mariah giving it her all in probably one of the most famous Christmas tunes ever. I like to use Spotify for playlists because it literally takes care of it for you. And we can Bluetooth our phones to our tv and sound bar to make it extra loud. Sorry neighbours.

4. Mis-matched tree decorations

Every year since we moved into this house I have bought a new decoration until we have enough to fill the entire Christmas tree. We bought cheap decorations a few years back and have used the same ones each year but now our tree is starting to look Pinterest worthy with all the cute mis-matched tree decorations I have collected. Yay me.
I normally pick a new decoration up from the Bath markets or one of the big garden centres but this year I am yet to find the one I want! I still have a few weeks left though so watch this space.

5. Camembert with crusty bread

Omg. This is and always will be my absolute favourite thing to eat, even when it’s not Christmas. But putting up the tree is tough work and once it’s done you’ll need fuel because no one can survive on mince pies alone. Baking a Camembert is super easy and literally requires no skills and most importantly, it tastes like heaven. Dip bread, grapes, carrot sticks, even your fingers in it and enjoy.

6. Christmas jumper

And you thought you were getting away with it. Think again. If you do not own a Christmas jumper by now then I don’t know what you’ve been doing in life because nothing gets me feeling more festive than my Christmas pudding jumper! I actually started wearing mine last week, which I know is a bit early for some people but I couldn’t help it, it’s so warm and over sized. I got mine from Primark last year but I saw some amazing ones in Asda last week.

7. Festive walk

Last year we embarked on a late night dog walk around the surrounding neighbourhoods and it was actually really magical! All the lights and decorations were so lovely that we ended up walking for way longer than expected. We did this the other night after putting the tree up but not many people have their lights up yet as it’s only the first week in December. I bet next week will be better and as long as the weather stays cold and crisp and it doesn’t rain, we will head out again in search of the best garden displays!

8. Christmas films

What better way to finish off the evening than with a Christmas film? Every year we seem to watch the 2009 version of A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey and it’s really good! It really gives me that warm fuzzy feeling inside and totally gets me in the mood for Christmas.

What will you be doing to make decorating your tree extra Christmassy?

Something strange has been happening around here lately– Rich has been doing things he doesn’t normally do. Maybe it’s the change in weather or the fact he turns 29 in 3 months and has finally realised I’m a pretty good catch! 😉

Most probably the latter.

He surprised me not once, but twice this week. Firstly he shows up in the middle of a field whilst I was dog walking at my friends kennels, which on his days off he comes to help me with. This particular time however, I said don’t worry as I know it’s your day off so go play golf. I heard someone running up behind me, which is actually not what you want to hear when you are in the middle of nowhere and think you’re alone! I turned around to see it was Rich with a big smile on his face as if he knew he’d done well. And he had because I really appreciate the company and help with some of the bigger dogs.

This weekend we found for the first time in ages we both had Sunday free so Rich said he was going to sort breakfast out in the morning for us both.

So there I am lying in bed trying to ignore the sound coming from the kitchen, whilst attempting to guess what it was Rich was cooking. I could smell bacon and I could also hear the microwave going so this must mean bacon and scrambled eggs because this is what he would usually cook so why would I expect anything else?

Next thing I know, I’m staring at baked eggs in avocado and a perfect cup of coffee wondering who the hell helped Rich cook this extremely photogenic breakfast. Was Jamie Oliver hiding out in the kitchen or something because I really was shocked at this!

Once again, Rich looked like the cat who got the cream– all pleased with himself for creating an Instagram worthy breakfast of champions.

Anyway, it tasted amazing so I thought I’d steal his idea for my blog because I’ve been really busy lately and haven’t had the time to write anything. This is a quick post and maybe you could call it a bit of a cheat because I didn’t in fact make this myself and also I could probably just post the images and you’d be able to figure out all by yourselves how to cook this. I mean it’s not rocket science, no offence Rich!

This is a Lean in 15 meal idea from the body coach Joe Wicks and if you haven’t already checked out his meal ideas then you really should because they are super quick and easy!

I’m writing this post from the comfort of my garden whilst eating a Greek salad and some left over BBQ meat. It’s 25 degrees, all I have planned for the rest of today is a photo shoot for one of my friends and I’m very much feeling like my life is heading in the right direction. GO ME.

Put it this way, if everyday were like today, I’d be a constant ray of fucking sunshine. I feel content and liberated and almost like I can take on anything right now. I just put a piece of salmon AND chilli beef kebab in my mouth at the same time, that’s how powerful I feel. The only thing I can complain about is the fact I’m drinking a mug of green tea and not a nice cold glass of Pimms.

I even had a shower in the middle of the day just because I can. I’m now wearing a pair of Rich’s Calvin Klein briefs because oh my god they are SO comfy and my shorts are too big so I figured showing off a Calvin Klein waste band is better than showing off a thong. Am I correct?

I also put on some cheap sunscreen from Aldi which hasn’t rubbed in well and I’m looking a little bit like when I had chicken pox as a kid and my mum would cover me in that white lotion. Does anyone remember this or is it just me?

I must say, I’ve never looked more attractive in my life.

But anyway, back to how amazing my life is.

Monday’s are now my new favourite day of the week. I’ve purposely freed up my day so I can concentrate on doing the things I love, the things that make me happy. The rest of the week is for my day job but today is for early morning CrossFit, catching up with blogging, web design or booking in the occasional photo shoot. And I am one happy bunny.

High five bitches.

The weekend was pretty perfect actually, minus the fact I had to go to the Church to clean first thing Saturday morning because I couldn’t make it on the usual day that week, but armed with a costa express things don’t seem as bad, so off I went.

Speaking of cleaning, my business seems to be doing well at the moment and although I really don’t want to make any rash decisions and jinx myself, I really need to take someone on to help me. I’ve said this before and then basically ignored my own advice and soldiered on, struggling to do the work myself mainly because I’m greedy and want all the pennies. I’m kidding, I’d be a barrel of laughs to work for and would for sure pay you well so please enquire within 😉

This time round though I’ve got other work coming in because as you may have already read I’m starting to do a bit of freelance web design and I already have 2 paying clients plus a few more enquiries. It’s a lot to take on and I’m studying on the side too because I’m no web designer– yet. Which is why I’m not charging big bucks for the work I do. I’m more than happy to do an hours web design for the same price as an hours cleaning because hello, who wouldn’t trade cleaning toilets for working from the comfort of your own home?

So yeah, that’s the long-term plan.

Once I was back from the church, the dog was eyeballing me with his ‘take me for a walk’ eyes and naturally I gave in like I always do, one because I love my dog and two because this is what you have to do when you have a dog. LOL.

We live right by a place called Lydiard Park so I took him through the very back fields where each year horses appear out of nowhere. It’s great because it is very unlikely we will bump into anyone else when we go this way, mainly because most people probably have normal dogs who walk through the park without trying to attack other dogs. I don’t, so we have to do things a little bit different, which normally results in Sid eating a lot of horse poop and me yelling at him to stop. It’s all fun and games let me tell you. I actually took a picture of him eating shit purely for this post then realised what a bad fur-baby mother I was for doing this so I’ve missed that image out.

When I got back, I popped over to my friend Gemma’s house quickly because I was a tad bored and needed to pass the time before we left to go see some of Rich’s friends for a BBQ in Maidenhead.

Whilst I was with Gemma, I somehow persuaded myself that I needed new trainers for this BBQ and I couldn’t possibly go unless I had them. I had approx 2 hours to get into the town centre, park, find the shoes, make the purchase, leave, get home and get showered and dressed for when Rich got home.

I mean I’ll be honest with you, I genuinely had no faith that I would be able to do all of this in the allocated time and I had visions of Rich coming home from work and getting mad at me for not being ready. But I like to live on the edge so I decided to take the chance anyway.

I think there should be an award or some world record for how long it actually took me to get into town, park, purchase new sneakers, AND make it out alive without getting side tracked in any homeware stores. I did it so fast, I didn’t even pay for parking! 20 minutes has to be a record for the fastest shoe shop doesn’t it? Generally I’m a pretty focused shopper, especially when the clock is ticking but the only time I seem to let my eyes wander is when I’m stuck behind slow walkers and I can’t find a way round so I end up letting my eyes rest way too long on all the homeware stuff I definitely do not need. Which reminds me, I saw a couch that I just know would look amazing in our lounge.

I’ve had my eyes on these bad boys for a while now and you can get yourself a similar pair right HERE.

The dog went off to my Mum’s for the afternoon and we headed off to Maidenhead, on time.

We rarely spend much time with Rich’s friends so it always makes a nice change when we do and what better way to do that than at a BBQ, especially when there is also the added bonus of a cute little sausage dog called Marmite to entertain me. Not that people don’t entertain me but you know, I will always be the person making small talk with your dog if you invite me over, so bear that in mind.

Things you must do at the next BBQ you host:

Find one of the dinner party playlists on Spotify.

If you don’t have a good sound system, put your phone into a mug or pint glass, it works a treat. (I think I may be late to the game here but I’m sharing anyway!)

Make banana and rolo dessert by slicing open one side of the banana and placing some rolos inside. Bake on the BBQ. AMAZING.

In true Rachel style, I drank an entire bottle of wine by myself, which honestly has no effect on me whatsoever anymore because I’m quite the pro when it comes to wine drinking. I’m still not sure if this is something to be proud of or not.

SUNDAY

I had to get up fairly early on Sunday because I had arranged a newborn baby shoot and I wanted to make sure I still had time for enjoying the amazing weather we’ve been having the last few days. Baby shoots aren’t really my thing, not because I don’t like babies– I think we all know how much I love babies by now! But because I’m used to photographing weddings and horses– both very different from a tiny new person.

Now I don’t want to sound big-headed or anything, but I nailed the shoot. LOL. I’m literally so happy with how the images turned out and I’ve had amazing feedback from both parents and lots of their Facebook friends so that feels really good, like really good. I wasn’t feeling the most confident about it as I know lots of people love images of their babies in baskets or posed into cute positions and I’ve never done this before! But it all worked really well and everyone was happy, except baby Spencer who I think had enough of my camera after 3 hours! Bless him.

I met Rich back at home after I was done and his basketball practice was over and I basically made him go get the BBQ from his brother Stewart who had said we could have it if we wanted. Whilst he did this, I cracked open a cold Corona and my Mum popped over with some wine. You can see where I get my drinking habits from can’t you?

Being the photographer I am, I needed the garden and the table to look Pinterest worthy so I re-did some pots, made some fizzy juice & ice cubes and decanted a bottle of red into a much prettier bottle. Decanted. That’s a nice word isn’t it?

Rich thought he was Jamie Oliver cooking on his new BBQ and he even cooked some chicken, which I’m really surprised about because never will you meet anyone more paranoid about food poisoning than him. I made the best Greek salad, obviously.

Anyway, this post is mega long and I’m sure you all have way better things to be doing right now than listening to me go on, although I’ll be posting this first thing Tuesday morning and maybe it will be just what you need to cheer you up and remind you of the rare sunny days we do get here in England. I don’t mean to be negative nancy, but it’s meant to rain on Tuesday. BOO.

I think these are quite possibly the easiest brownies to make in the world and guess what? They taste AMAZING. I’m not going to lie though, I did once work out how many cals were in each one and it made me feel like I needed to go to the gym– for an entire week!

But yeah, calorific or not, these 3 ingredient brownies are some of the best brownies I have ever tasted.